WMU Hydrogeology Field Course -- Asylum Lake Test Site

The Hydrogeology Field Course conducts the majority of its field work at the Western Michigan Universities Asylum Lake Preserve. Over the past decade(s) the Geoscinces department has developed and maintained field study sites at the Asylum Lake property for course work and advanced graduate study.  

 

 

 

Figure 1:

This map indicates several of the Hydrogeology Field Courses field test sites that encompass the Asylum Lake property. The Asylum Lake property is located near the WMU main campus at the NE corner of S. Drake Rd. and Parkview Ave across from the WMU Engineering Campus (BTR Park).

 
 

 

Figure 2:

Well field 1 is primarily used for the HFC Aquifer analysis module (GEOS 5260), and is occasionally used for additional field exercises during the Sampling (GEOS 5250) and Drilling (GEOS 5270) modules. Over the past years monitoring wells have been installed along an array (X) with a primary pumping well located in the center. The distribution and quantity of the monitoring wells surrounding the primary well provided a creditable tool for fully understanding the aquifers proprieties exhibited during the aquifer (pump) test. Additionally well field 1 also incorporates two USGS wells that are used to collect ground water elevation data from the area.

 
 

 

Figure 3:

Well field 2 is primarily used for the HFC Sampling module (GEOS 5250) and the Geophysics module (GEOS 5250). Well field 2 was originally established to track a “natural” organic plume that is created from the leachate of several large leaf and yard compost piles. The monitoring wells installed in this area provide sources for mapping the plume path, sampling the systems groundwater and testing the systems groundwater chemical composition. This plume also provides an additional site for the Geophysics module to run GPR and Resistivity surveys providing further mapping and understanding of the plume formation.

 

 

 

Figure 4:

This map illustrated the location of well field 3 and the lake shore monitoring wells utilized by the HFC.

Well Field 3 was formerly used for the HFC Aquifer analysis module (GEOS 5260) as the original pumping field. All but two monitoring wells in this field have been abandoned (properly removed and sealed) over the past years due to the development of well field 1. The remaining monitoring wells are used for additional field exercises, including ground water sampling and map development, during the Sampling (GEOS 5250) module. Additionally well field 3 also incorporates an ongoing graduate field test studing the parameters of slug test data.

The lakeshore wells are primarily used for the HFC Sampling module. These monitoring wells were established to record lake levels and determine ground water flow patterns. Additionally the lake shore wells also incorporate a USGS well that is used to collect ground water elevation data for the area.

 

 

 

Figure 5:

This figure illustrates the location of the HFC geophysics test site on the Asylum Lake Property. Although the site appears to be simply an open field it is composed of many geophysical targets that are buried below the surface. The geophysics test site is used primarily for the HFC Geophysics module (GEOS 5250) and is an ideal means of demonstrating how different geophysical methods may be employed to locate buried objects such as underground storage tanks (UST’s), pipelines (water, gas, oil..), or abandoned foundations and artifacts. The site provides the HFC students with an opportunity to operate a variety of geophysical instruments in a controlled environment, allowing the students to sharpen their skills prior to entering a “real life” site with unknown subsurface structures later in the module.

 

 

 

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